Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Score One for Justice (and UCLA)

It appears USC and UCLA meet in places other than the football field. Such was the case Tuesday in Santa Ana when U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney, above, put the hammer down on Barry Landreth, who was sentenced to six years in federal prison for running a real estate investment scam.

Prosecutors had recommended a four-year sentence for Landreth, but Carney would have none of that, saying Landreth abused his position as an instructor in real estate finance to lure investors and then used the money to buy luxury items, including a Cadillac Escalade and several show horses.

Landreth apologized to his victims, several of whom said the scheme ruined them financially. Included in the group was one of Landreth's former students who went to him for career advice.

"I know you guys hate me at this moment," he said. "I really hope that at some point you will accept my apologies."

Doubtful that will happen. A person claiming to be one of the victims wrote in the reader's comments section of the Orange County Register that "I'm glad he's going to pound-me-in-the-butt prison for a long time."